#Liam got some seems unfair lol

[angelasscribbles]

shiny butterfly that was Polo!,

Yes, well, I can't complain about that at all!

I still don't know how I missed this, or more likely, got the tag, thought I'll read that later then forgot.... but on the upside, it was like striking gold tonight!

So, without further ado.....

Time was everything right now, and unfortunately, I didn't have much of it in the bank.

I love how you do his internal monologue! I don't know, he just has so much....swagger lol and you really keep the dramatic tension up!

There was only one way that was gonna end. With him smack bang in the middle of a scandal that we definitely didn't need right now.

Can I just say that I love the way Drake says "we"? He's not an outsider here. This is everything, his job, his career, his passion, his best friend, his family, his country, his father's legacy, his responsibility etc and you really show it well.

Not that anyone ever listened to me...

OMG I have the same HC! (Just wait until you read the Disney one, Drake literally yells "I told you so" at Liam!🤣)

My gut tightens.

I'd never seen him happier.

But unfortunately for my best friend, this impromptu escapade's about to get shut down.

Ahhh, the struggle here.

"Pleasant trip?" I ask, striding up to them.

He's still gonna be sarcastic though I see.

"No," I reply simply before shifting my focus back to Chris.

He's not giving her an inch, is he?

Maybe I should drop my resumé off at Quantico...

So, he had offered to play bad cop. In part because he actually was a cop.

Yeah, that tracks. 😏

"She used my phone,"

Nice to see Chris wasn't completely clueless

Never thought I'd actually be thanking Leo for anything. But here we were...

HAHAHAHAHA

He throws me a dirty look.

I shrug. Shit happens.

Hahahaha, O'Sullivan is like seriously and Drake is like, oh well.

"Faster than swimming," I tell her with a shrug.

I literally spit my water out at this one

"It's his bird," I shout over the roar of the rotor blades. "So, yeah."

Again, really loving this attitude of his.

It was basically the truth. The best lies always were.

I HC this hard. My characters are always like "basically the truth", "mostly the truth", "close enough to the truth", "at least partially true" etc.

Guy was slicker'n a greased pig on ice...

That line was pretty slick for sure.

...even if his play had cost me mine.

I've been thinking this for the entire chapter!! Drake really has lost his one chance here maybe with the only woman to make him feel truly connected and he's not even bitching about it. Maybe a little in his head.

Don't get hooked.

That was my number one rule.

Because I had no time and zero interest in anything resembling a serious relationship. It was too distracting, too much work and I probably wouldn't be able to sustain it anyway. At least not without a level of disclosure that was higher than what I was prepared to give after just a handful of dates. And even then there was no guarantee that all the late nights, erratic schedules and constant jet-setting wouldn't drive a massive wedge between whatever promises we'd make to each other.

Hell, this life had literally destroyed my family.

You already know we share this HC. Drake eschews relationships until he meets MC, then he's blindsided by it and completely confused about how to deal with it.

Because no girl had ever had such a lightning bolt effect on me.

See? What did I just say? LOL. Drake, inside his own head right now.....

Because me and her? Wasn't gonna happen. On any level.

Yeah....keep telling yourself that, Walker

"Functional breakdown,"

Is that what we're calling it now?

so everyone else could fall down an open man-hole and break their neck for all I cared.

Harsh. But after the day he's had, fair.

Had I've known that this day was going to devolve into a never-abating conflagration of wildfires, I'd've probably got myself hammered before breakfast.

I snorted at this, like really hard. Because, poor guy. Would being drunk have helped the situation?

I hadn't looked this much like buzzard bait since the literal beating I'd received during — and after — the one and only polo match I'd ever subjected myself to.

AHHHHH!!! You referenced the polo match!

Placing them carefully on the vanity, so they remained within reach,

Thank you for this because this is how anyone is that job is going to do it.

Badge of a battle well-fought, Dad always used to say.

I can totally see Jackson saying this and I have the same HC about Drake yet again! Haha, shocking, right? He was a rough and tumble kid, all the sports, because he's very physical.

Because even if it hadn't still smelled like her, the mere sight of it had been enough to throw me back into that cramped apartment... and the litany of missed opportunities that had preceded it.

This....

Ok....I NEEEEEEEED more!!! He can't just leave without seeing her again and I know he's in a tough spot, social season about to start, can't abandon his brother and veritable uncle but come on Drake, she's the one!

Sleepless in New York: Chapter 9 - Edge of the Night

Series: TRR

Pairing: Drake Walker x F!OC (Harper Gale)

Rights belong to Pixelberry, most characters and some dialogue belong to them.

Synopsis: This is a short-story series written from Drake’s POV that explores an AU where Drake meets Harper (my OC from (Un)Common Attraction) by himself before the boys come to the bar on the last night of Christian’s bachelor party.

Masterlist: Sleepless in New York

Chapter Summary: Drake locates Christian... but that doesn't mean his night's over yet.

Word Count: 6,600

Rating/Warnings: M (swearing, angst)

Chapter theme song:

A/N1: Apologies this took sooo long to get out! I started working on this chapter back in November, but I got stuck several times, then I went to chase the shiny butterfly that was Polo!, and then I was busy collaborating on the Mardi Gras Mayhem fic. But... after much ado, here is the (hopefully!) pen-ultimate chapter of this series! Hope it meets expectations!

A/N2: A day early, but this is also my submission for the Choices April Challenge. This chapter would fall under the ‘Just want to be with you’.

Chapter 9 - Edge of the Night

Ten minute later, I'm standing at the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island, wearing a standard-issue NYPD leather jacket (courtesy of O'Sullivan), scanning the disembarking passengers, on the lookout for Chris.

I chew the inside of my mouth nervously as I feel my foot tap against the polished concrete floor.

Time was everything right now, and unfortunately, I didn't have much of it in the bank.

I could only hope that Hayley hadn't had a chance to post the photo yet. Because if she did, then it was only a matter of time before someone recognised Chris and blew up the carefully faked narrative of his whereabouts.

And then all bets were off...

Because even if we managed to make it back to Cordonia without any nasty surprises, chances were good that the paps would twist even the most innocent selfie into some kind of dig about Chris and his fitness to rule. While a snap of him getting kissed by an American girl days before the start of the social season where he is supposed to choose a wife...? There was only one way that was gonna end. With him smack bang in the middle of a scandal that we definitely didn't need right now.

And hence my one rule for this trip — no fuckin' photos.

Not that anyone ever listened to me...

Thankfully, I don't have to wait long. At this time of night, the ferry is basically empty and the terminal deserted.

The automatic doors in front of me whoosh open and I catch sight of Chris, holding hands with Hayley, laughing at something she'd just said.

My gut tightens.

I'd never seen him happier.

But unfortunately for my best friend, this impromptu escapade's about to get shut down.

"Pleasant trip?" I ask, striding up to them.

Chris throws his head up in surprise. "Drake?"

"You're a cop?" gasps Hayley in disbelief.

I follow her gaze to the NYPD insignia patched onto the jacket's sleeve. "Heh. No. This ain't mine."

"Then how did y—?"

"Put two-and-two together?" I ask dryly, deliberately sidestepping the question she was actually asking. "Simple maths."

Chris' shoulders drop as he lets out a self-deprecating chuckle. "I guess I am rather predictable..."

"Good thing, too," I drawl. "Otherwise I'd've had to call in the cavalry, and then we'd be having a very different kind of conversation."

Hayley's widen. "The caval—? You mean the FBI? Is that what you are?"

I suppress a snort. Seriously? The second time in just as many nights? Maybe I should drop my resumé off at Quantico...

"No," I reply simply before shifting my focus back to Chris.

"I am sorry," he sighs, catching fully onto my meaning. "I didn't intend to cause a ruckus. I honestly thought we could get here and back before anyone noticed."

"You know you could've just said the word, and we would've made this happen, right?" I ask. "There was no need for you to cut and run like that."

"To be fair, this was all quite spur of the moment, wasn't it?" he admits, sneaking a glance at Hayley, who blushes in response. "We were just talking back at the club, and I happened to mention that we never got to see the Statue of Liberty this morning... To which Hayley admitted to always having wanted to take a night-time ferry tour... And all of a sudden, one thing led to another, and—"

"Yeah, I get it," I interject. "And I don't blame you for doing it. But next time, leave your phone on. Regardless of whatever kind of BS Leo tries to sell you." I fix him with a pointed look.

Chris has the good graces to flush embarrassedly. "Duly noted."

Hayley shakes her head. "But his phone was—"

"And speaking of phones..." adds O'Sullivan, strolling up with a half-eaten Boston Cream donut in his hand, "I'm going to have to ask you to hand yours over, ma'am."

Hayley's mouth drops open. "My phone?"

"Yes, ma'am," O'Sullivan affirms, popping the rest of the donut into his mouth.

"What is the meaning of this, officer?" demands Chris, moving in front of a shocked Hayley.

"Chris..." I warn in a low voice. "Back off."

He throws me a disbelieving look. "But—"

"We have reason to believe that the device contains information pertinent to a matter under investigation," O'Sullivan clarifies.

Chris reels back. "What investigation?"

"A joint investigation," comes the stone-faced reply.

Hayley's face drains of colour.

I shake my head. Christ, O'Sullivan could be a bastard when he wanted to be.

But the situation couldn't be helped.

There were sensitive pictures of Chris and Hayley on that device that could not be allowed to see the light of day. And despite the fact that O'Sullivan was skirting a very dangerous line right now, we had to sacrifice one form of privacy to protect another.

Because even though O'Sullivan was an NYPD officer, sworn to uphold the laws of the Empire State, he was also duty bound to look out for his principle. So, he had offered to play bad cop. In part because he actually was a cop.

He turns back to Hayley. "Were you aboard the recently docked Staten Island Ferry?"

Chris heaves an exasperated sigh. "How is that—?"

O'Sullivan ignores him. "Answer the question, ma'am."

"Yes," squeaks Hayley.

"Damn it, Drake!" snaps Chris. "Do something!"

"Can't, buddy..." I inform him flatly. "Don't have jurisdiction here, remember?"

"So, you're just going to let him—?"

"Impeding a police officer from carrying out their public duties is a criminal offence," I point out, folding my arms. "So, I suggest you let the man do his job."

Chris glares at me.

But he was gonna have to suck it up.

Because he'd got himself into this avoidable mess as a result of his impulsiveness and complete disregard for our standard security protocols. So now it was my job to clean up after him.

Regardless of how it made him — or Hayley — feel.

"While onboard, did you take photographs with a cellular device?" continues O'Sullivan.

Hayley's basically quaking in her boots. "Yes, but—"

"And in the course of taking such photographs, did you—?"

"—but, I didn't use my phone!"

The intensity of Hayley's outburst catches everyone off guard.

I shake my head. "Then what—?"

"She used my phone," explains Chris tersely. "To take a picture of me with the Statue of Liberty in the background... so I could commemorate the once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"But she—"

"—may have taken a few additional pictures as well," admits Chris with a self-conscious smile, as his eyes finds Hayley again. "Somewhat spontaneously, I'll admit, but—"

"None on hers?" I press.

Chris lifts his eyes to mine steadfastly. "No. Her phone stayed in her purse the whole time. So, whatever it is that you are accusing her of, she did at my behest and therefore should be relieved of any and all responsibility."

I feel the tension in my shoulders unwind slightly. Some goddamn common sense, at last!

But Chris wasn't off the hook yet...

"Did you share any pictures with her?" I ask.

"He tried," Hayley admits. "But for some reason, there was no signal on the ferry."

I let out an explosive breath. Thank Christ for that signal jammer!

Never thought I'd actually be thanking Leo for anything. But here we were...

Hayley is still glaring at us. "Well, aren't you going to ask to see his phone, then? Seeing as you're so concerned about... whatever it is that you're concerned about?"

I glance at Chris. She's got a point...

He pulls out his phone with a nod of acknowledgment, knowing we had to continue playing this game for the sake of his cover. "Here you are, officer."

Taking it, O'Sullivan makes a bit of a show of flipping through Chris' camera roll before handing the device back. "Thank you, sir. Looks like we got bad intel. None of the images contain anything pertinent to our investigation." He throws me a dirty look.

I shrug. Shit happens.

But the important thing was that we were in the clear... and my ass was no longer on the line.

"So... that's it? asks Hayley cautiously. "We're free to go?"

"Not quite," I admit, meeting Chris' eye.

He drops his gaze in resignation before turning to Hayley. "As delightful as this spontaneous outing has been, I am afraid we must call it a night."

Her mouth falls open. "Just like that?"

"Unfortunately so," he confirms, lifting her hand gently to his lips. "But believe me when I say that you made my night, Hayley."

A blush rises to her cheeks. "I don't know about that..."

"Truly," he asserts, brushing a kiss over her knuckles. "I am forever grateful..."

"Jesus, I'm about to get diabetes..." huffs O'Sullivan under his breath.

I elbow him in the ribs.

"...and as a small token of my appreciation, I hope you would allow us to escort you home," finishes Chris with a meaningful look in my direction.

I can't help but scoff. Well played, buddy. Well played.

But I guess I owed him one after gatecrashing his date the way I had. And let's face it — we couldn't exactly leave the girl stranded on the wrong side of the Hudson without a safe way to get home. So, we might as well kill two birds with one stone.

"Sure," I concede. "She can ride back with us."

"In your drea—"

O'Sullivan grunts as I nail him in the side again.

"Oh, you really don't have t—" demurs Hayley.

"But I want to," insists Chris, turning the full force of his emerald gaze on her.

She wilts under his sincerity with a blush. "Well, in that case..."

"What the hell, Walker?" hisses O'Sullivan under his breath as Chris offers his arm to Hayley to lead her from the ferry terminal. "Finding your missing prince is one thing, but you can't just go around handing out free rides to civilians like—"

"Trust me," I reply quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I'll make it worth your while."

He snorts. "I already paid for the donuts."

"This is a bit more substantial than some Dunkin's," I assure him.

"Better be," he declares. "Kerosene ain't cheap, Lieutenant."

I throw my head up. "You've done your homework."

"What can I say?" he shrugs with a smirk. "I'm good at my job."

"And if you've read my file," I reply, recovering quickly, "you'll know that I am too."

"Seeing is believing, Walker," O'Sullivan reminds me as we exit the terminal hot on Chris and Hayley's heels.

I roll my eyes. "Hardass..."

But, I could understand his scepticism. This is the first time the two of us had officially worked together, and in this job, trust didn't come easy or cheap.

So, I was gonna let his attitude slide.

Hayley stumbles to a stop in front of us. "Why is there a—?"

"Had to get here somehow..."

Her jaw drops as she turns to gape at me. "So, you flew in a helicopter?"

"Faster than swimming," I tell her with a shrug.

Hayley stares at me like I was insane.

"And it's not waiting for stragglers, so if you want a lift, you'd better move it," prompts O'Sullivan, striding past her towards the idling chopper.

"Hold on. He's coming with us?" asks Hayley in disbelief.

"It's his bird," I shout over the roar of the rotor blades. "So, yeah."

"His—?" Her eyes widen. "Wait. Are you guys... arresting us?"

I fix her with a pointed look. "See any handcuffs?"

"Then why are we getting into a helicopter with a cop!" she demands, stubbornly throwing the breaks on a few feet from the aircraft.

"Because he's doing us a favour," I explain with a sigh. "So if you—"

"No!" she protests. "Not until you tell me who the hell you are! Because if you're not cops and you're not FBI then—"

Chris steps assuringly up to her. "Hayley. There is nothing nefarious underfoot. I promise. We are simply—"

"Diplomats," I interject quickly, not 100% confident that Chris won't choose this moment to come clean about who he really was. "From Europe."

"Diplomats?" queries Hayley, eyeing the two of us uncertainly.

"Here on an unofficial, turn-and-burn visit," I confirm. It was basically the truth. The best lies always were.

"Unofficial?" she frowns. "You mean secret?"

"You make it sound much more suspenseful than it in fact is," chuckles Chris, holding a hand out to help her into the ‘copter.

"But we are trying to keep a low profile," I remind them.

She mulls over our responses. "So, that cop—?"

"Doing us a favour, like I said."

"What's the holdup, boys?" shouts O'Sullivan from the cockpit.

"Nothing!" I holler back over my shoulder as Hayley finally climbs in...

...while simultaneously throwing a hand out to intercept Chris as he's about to follow suit.

He meets my eye quizzically.

"Not with that kit in your pocket, buddy," I tell him. "I've had more than enough excitement for one night."

His brows furrow. "Isn't it just—?"

"It can down the chopper," I reply flatly, holding out my hand.

Chris pales. Reaching into his jacket, he quickly palms me the signal jammer without further protest.

Killing the power to the device, I pocket it and hop in after Chris.

"'Bout time, Walker," observes O'Sullivan dryly as I pull the door closed.

Securing the hatch, I flick my middle finger 'round, giving O'Sullivan the go to take off while simultaneously flipping him off.

He throws his head back with a laugh as he relays the instructions to Hendricks.

The pilot revs the throttle, and we start to lift into the air.

Dropping into the seat across from Chris, I pull the seatbelt on as I fire off a quick text to Schweitzer to let him know that we were inbound back to the hotel. Stowing the device, I pull the headset on just in time to hear Hayley's gasp over the intercom.

Glancing up, I see her latched onto Chris, eyeing the rapid retreat of the terra firma with a confused mix of emotions on her face.

Chris's voice crackles over the intercom. "Exciting, isn't it?"

She swallows hard, tightening her hold on his arm. "You... you could say that..."

His face clouds with concern. "Do you... suffer from acrophobia by any chance?"

"W-what?" she stammers, glancing back at him nervously.

"Acrophobia," he repeats. "Fear of heights."

She shakes her head. "I... I've just never flown before."

"Ah," nods Chris in understanding. "Some trepidation is perfectly understandable, then. But, as someone who has been flying since infancy, I can assure you that it is quite safe."

"Promise?"

"Solemnly," he assures her, covering her hand in his. "I wouldn't dream of putting you in harm's way. And, if it helps at all, you are welcome to focus your attention on me."

I scoff under my breath as Hayley lifts her gaze to Chris' like clockwork.

Guy was slicker'n a greased pig on ice...

But I couldn't really blame him. It was his last shot at freedom before the start of the season, so he was entitled to bring his A-game...

...even if his play had cost me mine.

I give myself a mental kick.

Quit it, you ass.

This was Chris' time. Not mine.

And I wasn't gonna let some misplaced sense of resentment fuck up what was left of this trip.

Especially since I only had myself to blame.

For dragging my feet around Gale. For second-guessing myself... and her. And for letting myself fall for her in the first place.

I heave a breath as I stare out of the cockpit.

I'd fucked up. Big time.

Don't get hooked.

That was my number one rule.

Because I had no time and zero interest in anything resembling a serious relationship. It was too distracting, too much work and I probably wouldn't be able to sustain it anyway. At least not without a level of disclosure that was higher than what I was prepared to give after just a handful of dates. And even then there was no guarantee that all the late nights, erratic schedules and constant jet-setting wouldn't drive a massive wedge between whatever promises we'd make to each other.

Hell, this life had literally destroyed my family.

Yet, here I was, despite everything, wishing it was Harper that I was sat next to right now — instead of Chris and Hayley — feeling the warmth of her body pressed against mine, smelling the honey scent of her hair as we whipped over the city.

Would she be clutching my hand nervously, like Hayley was Chris'? Or would she be pressed up against the window, hazel-green eyes sparkling with excitement as she sought out each famous landmark? Or would she be on my lap, taking me for a very different kind of ride 2,000 feet over the city, the view outside forgotten?

I swallow a groan as I shift uncomfortably in the hard seat.

Christ, I was in trouble...

Not only had I torpedoed my own rules like a bull in a china shop, but I'd decided that it'd be a great idea to fall for a girl who lived literally on the other side of the world, and who I had no chance of seeing again.

Because the social season was starting in a few short days, and it was going to eat up literally all of my time. In part because the season was a mess of high-profile public engagements across disparate venues around the country, and in part because Chris was now the Heir Apparent and that meant that I was going to have to be even more on the ball when it came to security arrangements.

So, there was no way in hell that — even if I wanted to — I was going to be able to hop back over the Pond and find Gale, much less spend any kind of meaningful time with her.

And I wanted to. Desperately. Beyond the fact that I had an incurable itch in my pants from having failed to close the deal.

Because no girl had ever had such a lightning bolt effect on me. And I couldn't ignore the lodestone-like attraction that went beyond anything I'd ever felt before.

But life obviously had a malicious sense of humour when it came to throwing curve balls, because short of giving Bast — and Chris — the finger and resigning, I literally had no cards to play.

And I wasn't gonna leave my brother or my commanding officer (who was also my uncle in all but name) in the lurch during one of the busiest periods of the royal calendar, just so I could chase after a girl who may or may not actually want to see me again.

Especially after the way I'd walked out on her earlier...

I shake my head morosely as we begin our descent onto the hotel roof.

There was no two ways about it. Because regardless of what had happened — and didn't — I was going to have to accept that I'd been dealt a shit hand and the only available option was to cut my losses and fold.

Because me and her? Wasn't gonna happen. On any level.

So, if I was to have any hope of extricating myself from this irrational infatuation that I'd inadvertently thrown myself into, I knew that I was just gonna have to pretend that the past two nights never happened...

...and maybe that way I could salvage some semblance of sanity before I lost my mind completely.

The chopper touches down.

Yanking my headset and seatbelt off, I immediately set about throwing the door open and helping Chris and Hayley disembark.

Because if there was one thing I knew about myself, it was that I had two options for pulling myself out of my ass: getting physical, or getting shit-faced drunk. And since alcohol was not a possibility right now — at least not until Chris was safely back in his hotel room and the door had been locked for the night — I was going to have to keep moving and keep myself busy.

"Get her inside," I shout to Chris. "I'll be over in a sec."

With a nod, he wraps his arm around Hayley to help shield her from the worst of the down draft as he begins leading her towards the hotel-access door on the other side of the roof.

Turning back towards the chopper, I yell up O'Sullivan, "Thanks for the assist!"

"Any time, Lieutenant," he winks back at me as I shrug out of the loaner jacket. "You Cordonians sure know how to make a guy's night interesting!"

"Yeah," I scoff, tossing the heavy leather up to him. "A little too interesting..."

"Beats sitting at a desk all night," he grins, deftly snapping the jacket out of the air... until his expression changes to confused as he clocks the added weight. "You leave your Tic-Tac's in here, or something, Walker?"

"Nope," I reply. "That lil' keepsake's for you, Deputy Inspector."

O'Sullivan frowns as he reaches into the inner-left pocket... and blanches as he pulls out the signal jammer. "You've got to be shitting me!"

I catch his eye with a level look. “Told you I'd make this trip worth your while..."

"Yeah, when you said that, I thought you were talking about a case of Bud, or something," he admits dryly, inspecting the jammer. Looking back up, he adds, "You realise this isn't some rookie tech off Amazon, right?"

I nod. "It's why I figured you'd want it off the streets."

Leo'd probably filched it from the Guard armoury, the sneaky bastard. Which meant it was military-grade and had no place in a civilian setting.

O'Sullivan chuckles. "You figured right. This bad boy could've landed your Prince Charming with a hefty fine... or some serious jail time if he'd been caught with it."

"Trust me, I know," I grunt. "But at least this way you have a plausible story for commandeering the chopper."

"Not to mention a shit load of paperwork," he grumbles with a sour look. But I can see that he's not that begrudging of the situation.

"Yeah, well," I shrug, "no pain, no gain, O'Sullivan. And speaking of, I should get going before Chris blows up all our hard work by disappearing again."

"No sweat, Walker," grins O'Sullivan. "Like I said, it's been interesting."

"Glad to’ve been of service," I smirk in reply as I yank the chopper door closed again.

From behind the cockpit window, O'Sullivan lifts two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute before turning back Hendricks.

As the rotors start to pick up speed again, I quickly vacate the landing circle. Loping across the roof, I catch up with Chris and Hayley just before the stairwell door slams shut behind them.

"Everything alright?" queries Chris as the motion-sensitive lights flicker on overhead in the tight space.

"Yup," I confirm, quickly moving to the front. I wasn't expecting any nasty surprises on our way down, but you could never be too careful. "Just had to square a few lose ends."

"What happened to your shirt?" exclaims Hayley, suddenly catching sight of my bare chest.

"Functional breakdown," I mutter, yanking the wayward front panels together as I start making my way down the steps.

"He means it ripped," clarifies Chris wryly in response to Hayley's confused silence.

"Yeah, I can see that, but—"

"It ain't important," I cut in gruffly, picking up the pace.

It was bad enough that I couldn't get Gale out of my head. I didn't need the remnants of my unfulfilled night with her turning into a conversation piece.

Because the last thing I felt like doing — after everything that had gone wrong tonight — was talking.

About any of it. As it sure as hell wasn't gonna change anything, and it definitely was no one's business but mine and Gale's.

Reaching the landing, I divert towards the nondescript door that was our gateway back into the hotel proper. Cracking it open, I do a quick visual sweep for potential threats before opening it more fully to let Chris and Hayley through as well.

Hayley frowns as she surveys our surroundings. "You brought us to... a gym?"

"It's the fastest way to the elevators," I tell her, striding past the glass-encased room that housed the top-of-the-line fitness equipment. "Unless you want to tackle a dozen flight of stairs in those heels?"

"No, thanks."

"Yeah. Didn't think so."

"Is he always so grumpy?" whispers Hayley to Chris... loud enough for me to hear.

"Only on Thursdays and Fridays," replies Chris in equally (un)hushed tones.

Hayley snorts in response.

I feel my jaw clench.

But we were two yards from the elevators and the end of this fucked up night.

So, I don't let myself rise to the needling, and focus instead on the task at hand, which was making sure that Chris got back to his room without incident.

Arriving at the metal doors, I press the button to call the lift. One arrives almost instantaneously and we file in, Chris and Hayley trying and failing to hide their conspiratorial sniggers as they cast me sidelong glances.

I roll my eyes, but otherwise remain silent.

Just had to drop Chris off, and then escort Hayley down to the lobby and into a cab.

Then I was done.

Luckily, the well-greased elevator ride is mercifully short, and we arrive on our booked-out floor within seconds.

The doors ping open.

I open my mouth...

...but Chris is faster.

"Could I tempt you with a nightcap?" he asks Hayley, extending his hand hopefully down towards the end of the hallway. "My room has quite an impressive selection of refreshments."

"Sounds like being a diplomat comes with perks," she observes with a smile.

"Absolutely," agrees Chris, placing a hand in the small of her back to guide her towards his room. “Especially when you have a beautiful lady to share them with.”

I slam my mouth shut as I step out of the lift after them.

So much for that plan...

Chris obviously wasn't ready to call it a night. But who could blame him? He had a hot girl hanging on his every word and gesture, who'd just agreed to come back to his hotel room. He'd be a fool not to take full advantage of the opportunity.

And honestly? With the way they were looking at each other, I'd be surprised if they even made it to the mini bar (let alone to the bed) before they jumped each other like a pair of horny jackrabbits...

...Christ knew Gale and I hadn't.

I shake my head. 

Put a sock in it, Walker!

Yanking my phone out of my pocket to distract myself from the relentlessly graphic memories, I send a quick sit-rep to Schweitzer to let him know that we'd made it safely back to the hotel, and everyone could finally unclench their sphincters.

That said, I had no idea what Leo, Max and Tariq were up to… or where the hell they even were. But they were not my priority. If they'd got themselves lost, locked up, or killed, that was their problem. Not mine.

I'd had enough of running around the greater New York metropolitan area for one night, praying and hoping while chasing down partial leads and best-guesses. And I wasn't gettin' paid to stress about nobody but Chris, so everyone else could fall down an open man-hole and break their neck for all I cared.

I was fuckin' done with this night.

"Care to join us?"

Chris voice jars me from my thoughts. Glancing up, I can see him standing in the doorway of the Presidential Suite, looking at me expectantly.

"Huh?"

"For a drink," he clarifies, no doubt catching the dumbass expression on my face. "Seeing as I ended up pulling you away from... whatever you were doing—" his gaze flicks pointedly to the ripped buttons of my shirt, "—I feel I should offer you at least some recompense. Even if it is just a late-night libation."

"Nah," I say with a shake of my head, slotting my phone away. "I'm beat. I'm calling it a night."

"Well, if you change your mind..."

I scoff. "Trust me, I won't. You don't need me crashing that particular party."

I nod my chin towards the inside of the room where Hayley was already in the process of shrugging out of her sparkly jacket as she stood silhouetted by the glow emanating from the Manhattan nightscape behind her.

Chris glances briefly over his shoulder with a wry grin. "No, I suppose not. Rain check?"

"Rain check," I agree, bumping my fist against his. "On the condition your ass stays in that room 'til departure time. And you don’t take or share any photos with her. Including the ones from the ferry. Otherwise you'll be owing me a helluva lot more than a fancy, overpriced drink.”

Chris cracks a laugh as he pulls the door around. "Duly noted! 'Night, mate! I owe you one!”

"Damn right you do!”I reply with a smirk, pulling my own keycard out. "Play safe."

"I always do," winks Chris, reaching around to slip the 'Do Not Disturb' placard onto the door handle.

A low exhale escapes me as the door — at last — clicks softly closed.

Christ, what a clusterfuck...!

Had I've known that this day was going to devolve into a never-abating conflagration of wildfires, I'd've probably got myself hammered before breakfast.

Because getting though the past 24 hours even partially sober had tested every one of my nerves. And given the fact that I'd gotten basically no sleep the night before, I was near about past going.

Which is probably why I couldn't think one straight thought without tripping over Gale.

I clench my eyes shut. Definitely time to clock out...

Opening my eye, I slide the keycard into the reader with a chirp. Pushing the door handle down, I step into the darkened room.

Not bothering with the lights — given that the curtains were still open and the background glare of the nearby buildings provided plenty of illumination — I punt the door shut behind me, and head straight for the mini bar.

I may have turned down Chris's offer for a late-night drink, but that didn't mean I was gonna crash out sober. If anything, after the way this trip had snowballed into the definition of 'fucked up beyond all recognition', I was in half a mind to straight up kill my liver...

...I just didn't want to do it while playing awkward third-wheel in the other room.

Arriving at the fridge, I yank the door open and survey the cop-out offerings of water, soda, beer and champagne.

I heave a breath. Well, ain’t nobody getting drunk off this shit...

Still. It was better than nothing.

Grabbing two bottles of beer out — because no way I was touching the champagne (even if it was Krug); the last thing I needed right now on top of everything else was a motherfuckin' migraine — I pop the cap off one and take a hard swallow.

The cool malt hits the back of my throat, and I chug the rest of it down greedily, suddenly realising how parched I was.

Dropping the empty bottle back on the bar top, I am reaching for the second when I catch sight of my reflection in the large mirror sitting behind the shelving in front of me.

Sweet Jesus, I looked like death warmed up...

My hair looked like it'd been chewed up and spat out by a yak, my skin was ashen, my eyes tired and bloodshot, and I had a large, blueish welt on my jaw from where Tattoos had decked me.

I pull a face as I untwist the second cap.

I hadn't looked this much like buzzard bait since the literal beating I'd received during — and after — the one and only polo match I'd ever subjected myself to.

And it was clear that — just like then — I desperately needed a shower.

Draining the second beer, I quickly draw the curtains before resignedly turning back the way I'd come.

Dropping my keycard into the holder on the wall to turn the lights on, I kick my boots off by the door and trudge into the bathroom.

Grabbing some towels, I throw them onto the floor and shove the faucet of the glass-panelled shower onto the hottest setting.

While waiting for the water to warm up, I bend down to pull off the ankle holsters that held the Sig P365 and tactical knife that I never went anywhere without.

Placing them carefully on the vanity, so they remained within reach, I proceed to strip off the rest of my clothes. The ruined shirt ends up on the floor, followed by the clang of my belt buckle as my jeans and boxers hit the ground.

Pulling my socks off and throwing them on top of the pile, I step into the now rapidly rising steam. A low hiss escapes me as the scalding water hits my chest. But rather than flinching away, or turning the temperature down, I lean into the spray, letting the hot water beat down onto me, like a hammer on an anvil, working the tension out of my muscles.

I have no clue how long I stand there for, head hanging down, hands braced against the wall, just soaking.

But eventually, I force myself to blink my eyes open. Because the hour was already late, and even though I could probably stay under the spray all night, I knew I needed to catch some shut eye before the inevitable morning scramble to get everyone back home in time for the Masquerade Ball.

So, reaching for the travel-sized bottle of three-in-one wash that I'd brought with me, I proceed to lather myself from head to toe. Once done, I rinse myself off, letting the water pummel me for a few more minutes before reluctantly turning the spray off.

Unfurling one of the towels, I drop it on the marble floor so I could step out of the shower without breaking my neck. Grabbing the other towel, I run it over myself to get the worst of the moisture off before wrapping it around my waist.

Moving over to the vanity, I lift a hand to wipe the condensation off the oversized mirror and note that the hot soak had managed to bring some colour back to my face... albeit at the expense of my bruise, which had grown more pronounced as a result of the prolonged heat treatment.

Oh, well. Shit happens...

It's not like I was a stranger to bruises. Growing up, I'd collected plenty of them from all the stupid shit I got up to, climbing up rickety ladders, falling out of trees, off my bike, not to mention off horses that were unquestionably too big for me.

And the hits only intensified as I got older and tried my hand at pretty much every type of sport imaginable — most of them in the contact category. Soccer, basketball, rugby, water polo, judo... I'd done it all. Including American football, which Dad had begun indoctrinating me into since before I could even walk, and which I actually got a chance to play at uni as a running back.

So, a black-and-blue shiner on my face wasn't gonna faze me.

Badge of a battle well-fought, Dad always used to say.

Plus it's not like I was reliant on my looks to get me through life. I wasn't constantly in the limelight, being forced to present some kind of idealised image to the world. That was Chris' lot. Not mine.

Thank fuck...

Though if I actually wanted to be able to eat anything tomorrow that was more substantial than a milkshake, I probably should ice the bastarding thing down.

I feel a wry smirk pull at my mouth as I reach for my wash bag. That bottle of Krug might get a lease on life, after all...

Quickly brushing and flossing my teeth — wincing a bit at the growing tightness in my jaw — I gather up my discarded clothes (as well as my holsters) and make my way back into the room.

Placing the weapons on the bedside table — contrary to what pop culture may have you believe, it ain't a good idea to sleep with a loaded gun beneath your pillow — along with my phone and wallet, I set about sorting out my threads.

A quick once-over reveals that after all the literal running around I'd ended up doing, the jeans probably could do with a wash. But I'd only brought the one pair, so they were going to have to do for tomorrow. The socks and boxers were unquestionably dead, so I roll them up to stow away in my duffle.

That left the shirt.

Grabbing either end of the split yolk, I bring the busted button-down up to eye-level to determine it's fate.

All in all, four buttons were missing, so the damage wasn't as bad as I'd—

From beneath the lingering hum of stale sweat, old leather and jet fuel, I suddenly catch a whiff of her honey-camomile scent, soft and sweet, like a half-remembered dream... and I nearly choke.

Goddammit...

I launch the cotton across the room with a growl of frustration.

As much as I'd liked the shirt — it was one of the few dressier ones that I owned — there was no way I was gonna be able to salvage it.

Because even if it hadn't still smelled like her, the mere sight of it had been enough to throw me back into that cramped apartment... and the litany of missed opportunities that had preceded it.

And, even if I did fix it back up, I'd never be able to wear the damn thing without a stark reminder of the cold, hard fact that that's all Gale was now — a memory.

So, the sooner I burned it, the better.

Along with the shirt.

But, since I didn't have a blowtorch with me — and, in any event, setting fire to the highly flammable material in the hotel room would definitely cause a building-wide evacuation — I was going to have to make do with simply stuffing the rag in the trash.

Heaving a beleaguered breath, I force myself to march around to the other side of the bed and pick up the shirt again. Balling it up, I dump it in the bin next to the desk.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Dropping the towel from my waist, I shuffle over to my duffle to stow my dirty clothes away and grab a fresh pair of boxers out.

Pulling the underwear on, I do a final sweep of the room before hitting the lights, grabbing the Krug to serve as an impromptu ice pack, and crawling beneath the cool sheets.

But instead of passing out as soon as my head hits the pillow, I find myself lying awake, staring into the darkness.

...fuck's sake.

The story continues in Chapter 10 - Hungover on You (coming soon!)

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Sleepless in New York only

@bebepac

Picture Credits

Staten Island Terminal - Shower - Drake - Dawn - Hayley & Chris - NYPD - Helicopter - Brooklyn Bridge

[shinxeysartgallery]

How we feeling now that murder drones is ending?

I think it's so unfair that glitch is cancelling murder drones cause tadc is much more profitable like damn I thought they were better than this

To be fair, we never explicitly had a Season 2 confirmed and I don't think it's fair to blame TADC over it getting cancelled. From what I can tell, it seems like GLITCH and Liam both planned on there being a Season 2 at some point, but we also don't know what's happened behind the scenes. ANYTHING could've happened.

Maybe they didn't get greenlit for a Season 2? Even if they have enough funding and support from the fans for it, they can't move forward without that green light.

There's not enough funding or other resources for them to realistically work on a Season 2 right now. They're also working on TADC and the new Gaslight District and have also just now picked up helping Lackadaisy with funding. Pretty sure at least some of the GLITCH crew works on the main SMG4 channel's stuff as well. That's a LOT to work with from such a small company! It might be a case of they bit off more than they could chew. This could also indicate that it's a temporary thing, but they don't want to get peoples' hopes up in case they can't give us the coveted Season 2.

Liam could be feeling burnout and wants to work on something else. I believe Murder Drones is his longest running series, and it's been in production for at least 4-ish years, counting the Pilot episode. He could've very well lost motivation or be suffering from burnout in that amount of time!

The main series is ending, but it's because they're planning on doing something else with Murder Drones (such as a sequel or spinoff) instead of a Season 2. Up until about when Episode 7 dropped, the Murder Drones playlist was labeled "Season 1" and Liam has said in a past AMA that he planned on there being a Season 2 at some point. He could've discussed his plans for Season 2 with GLITCH and they collectively decided that a spinoff/sequel/etc. would be a better fit for Liam's ideas!

Those are just a few scenarios that could have caused its ending; it's not necessarily a "hurr durr we wanna ditch literally everything else we're working on because TADC gives the monies" situation. Obviously, unless Liam himself or someone actually from GLITCH comes out and makes a statement about it, we don't know for sure why or what caused it. But again, I think it's incredibly unfair to blame TADC over it.

As for my feelings on its conclusion though? Bittersweet. I'm so excited to see what Liam's got planned for the finale and I know it's going to be epic; it'll be so cool getting to see everything come to an end! But at the same time, I'll be sad 'cause it's over. No more excitedly waiting and wondering what's going to happen in the next episode or wondering how the current one's cliffhanger is going to resolve. Buuuut that doesn't mean it's the end! There's still a chance we could get more official Murder Drones content, but even if we don't we've got fanworks! This fandom is one of the most passionate ones I've been in and I don't think it's going anywhere any time soon, even if we never get another official piece of content.

Personally, I'm going to keep working on my AU and keep drawing my drones. The show ending isn't going to stop me! >:D

(Also lowkey is kinda good because after this episode, I don't have to worry about the next episode completely destroying some of my lore again. lol)

[mayasdeluca]

Not hate but I don't get the "drifted apart" thing when we just didn't get anything else from them AT ALL after that story lol

Like we got content from an event, casual bts or little stuff but it's not like Stef or Danielle keep posting bts and ignoring eachother.

It seems like besides this cute friendship with Merle since the hiatus, Stef started interacting more with the rest of the cast this season (maybe bc it's the last one idk). But yeah, the whole drama seems to be if S dares to interact with J or B bc they think that's equal to be apart from D. Another thing I clearly got from that interview is how aware they are of the shippers lol, I don't doubt that they police their interactions on sm thinking on crazy reactions.

Well yes but this cast is never the type to post constant BTS, they do it sporadically and they were times that they posted after that first day on set. The day of the premiere they all posted a bunch and we didn't really get any of Danielle and Stefania together. Danielle posted some BTS of the Pride episode but they weren't filming together much for that episode. There was BTS from Stefania's directing episode and we got that one picture off the camera screen. Danielle says she has a lot of pictures with the baby who plays Liam but we haven't seen any of that yet, don't know if we ever will. I guess it's just another situation of people having high expectations especially since it was the last season and we probably shouldn't have because this cast has been bad with BTS for a while now.

It's definitely unfair for people to be mad at Stefania for having other friends in the cast. For whatever reason it seems like this was the year she started getting closer to others and there's nothing wrong with that. And I also think like it's been said, everyone got so used to getting so much of D & S together during the 2020 period when they were in a bubble together and filming mostly together and doing those lives because there wasn't much going on in the outside world that now that there's a shift, people think there's something wrong when in reality they can just be doing other things again. And that interview definitely made it clear that they are still aware of what's being said about them and how they want to emphasize that they support each other and enjoy working together but that's mainly what their relationship has been. Anything else is people's own projections and then getting mad when it doesn't end up being true.

[karahalloway]

Drake squirmed uncomfortably when Liam asked about his love life. He decided to evade rather than lie, “Probably less complicated than yours.” “Probably,” Liam mused as he lifted his water glass to his lips, “I haven’t seen Riley in weeks and last night, she wouldn’t even let me touch her!”

👀👀👀

What is going on here...?!

Drake placed his fork on his plate and leaned back in his chair as he regarded his friend solemnly, “And there was nothing you could do? No negotiations? No loopholes? I mean…clearly, she’s a duchess now…” There were always loopholes.

As we well know from Bad Romance 😆

“I’m surprised at your reaction, it’s nothing you don’t do.” “What isn’t?” “Sleeping with multiple partners.” “That’s true but I’m not in a committed relationship.” “Are you saying that if you found the right woman, you would give up all the others?” Emerald eyes swam through his head as he nodded, “I would.”

And that's why we love him

“So you two have agreed on an open relationship?”   “Oh, heavens no!” Liam reached for a roll, “Can you imagine the scandal if the queen had an affair?” Drake’s brows drew together in confusion, “But you’re having an affair!” “That’s different.” “How?”

Yes... how...?

“First of all, because I’m the king. I can do what I want. Second of all, I can’t produce a child with the wrong parentage. She can. Even if I impregnated someone else, the public wouldn’t care. But if the queen had an illegitimate child? No. That can’t happen.”

Jesus fuck... he really is concieted in this one, isn't he? 😅

Liam waved his hand dismissively, “I know, I know. It seems unfair, but it’s the way of the world. I don’t make the rules.” “You’re literally the king, you ass.” Drake shook his head half in amusement and half in disbelief.  

...but yes - Drake is correct.

“So, your wife doesn’t know about Riley?” “I wouldn’t say that….” “And Riley is okay with your marriage?” “I wouldn’t say that either,” Liam sighed, “It’s….complicated.”

Uh-huh...

“I want you two to get to know each other!” Liam interjected.

We're a bit past that, Liam!!

Riley turned in astonishment, “Are you serious right now? After what you did to me?”

😕

“Oh really, Hana? Don’t pretend that you gave a shit about what your parents wanted…you married him to punish me for not returning your feelings!”

OMG! I honestly thought Liam married Madeleine...!! 😱😵 Admittedly the 'you're my best friend' comment threw me a bit, but I thought, oh maybe this is some kind of AU where Riley grew up with Madeleine 😅

“If you were my friend, Hana, you wouldn’t have married the man that had already made promises to me! The man that fucked me in the hedge maze five minutes before getting engaged to you!” Hana’s body jerked back at the revelation and a malicious smile spread across Riley’s face, “Oh, you didn’t know about that, huh?”

That got ugly fast... 😅 Curious to see where you end up taking this after that MASSIVE curve-ball lol

Victim of Love Chapter 6: Quagmire

Series: Victim of Love

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Liam x Riley (for now), Drake x Riley

Word Count: 1,404

Rating: MA

A/N: This is not sweet, canon Liam. Things are complicated. He might be a little selfish in this one.

Warnings for this chapter: None really. A very heated argument lol.

Song Inspiration for series: Victim of Love by The Eagles

I see a broken heart

You got your stories to tell

My other stuff: Master List.

Drake was afraid that lunch with Liam was going to be awkward, all things considered. But it wasn’t. They quickly fell back into the old, familiar patterns of their friendship. The teasing, the bantering, and the habit of telling each other everything.

Well, almost everything.

Drake squirmed uncomfortably when Liam asked about his love life. He decided to evade rather than lie, “Probably less complicated than yours.”

“Probably,” Liam mused as he lifted his water glass to his lips, “I haven’t seen Riley in weeks and last night, she wouldn’t even let me touch her!”

“What?” Drake almost choked on the forkful of potatoes he had just stuck in his mouth. That news made him happier than it should have.

Liam set his glass on the table and pushed it away with a sigh, “She’s angry. I don’t blame her, all things considered, but-“

“What is the story there?” Drake had paused chewing, eyes locked on his best friend as he waited for answers.

“As I told you, the council wouldn’t approve her nor would my father.”

“Because she’s a commoner?” He remembered Liam had told him that much at the wedding.

Liam nodded, “Yes.”

Drake placed his fork on his plate and leaned back in his chair as he regarded his friend solemnly, “And there was nothing you could do? No negotiations? No loopholes? I mean…clearly, she’s a duchess now…”

There were always loopholes.

Liam shrugged, “If Riley hadn’t existed, then my decision would have been easy. You’ve seen my wife. She’s not exactly hard to look at and she was raised for ruling. She handles the role well.”

“So what? You wanted to have your cake and eat it too?” 

“Is that so bad?”

Drake’s mouth fell open, “I mean…it doesn’t seem fair to either woman.”

“I’m surprised at your reaction, it’s nothing you don’t do.”

“What isn’t?”

“Sleeping with multiple partners.”

“That’s true but I’m not in a committed relationship.”

“Are you saying that if you found the right woman, you would give up all the others?”

Emerald eyes swam through his head as he nodded, “I would.”

Liam scoffed, “I’m not sure I believe that but regardless, you know that marrying was never about love and the commitment and duty part is all about Cordonia.”

“So you two have agreed on an open relationship?”  

“Oh, heavens no!” Liam reached for a roll, “Can you imagine the scandal if the queen had an affair?”

Drake’s brows drew together in confusion, “But you’re having an affair!”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“First of all, because I’m the king. I can do what I want. Second of all, I can’t produce a child with the wrong parentage. She can. Even if I impregnated someone else, the public wouldn’t care. But if the queen had an illegitimate child? No. That can’t happen.”

“But-“

Liam waved his hand dismissively, “I know, I know. It seems unfair, but it’s the way of the world. I don’t make the rules.”

“You’re literally the king, you ass.” Drake shook his head half in amusement and half in disbelief.  

“Even that has it’s limits.”

“So, your wife doesn’t know about Riley?”

“I wouldn’t say that….”

“And Riley is okay with your marriage?”

“I wouldn’t say that either,” Liam sighed, “It’s….complicated.”

The door to the private dining room opened and Drake choked on his food again as Liam sprang to his feet.

Riley went willingly into Liam’s embrace, but her eyes zeroed in on Drake as she returned the hug. Turning her head to the side so Liam’s kiss landed on her cheek, she greeted them both with, “Good morning.”

Liam chuckled, “it’s afternoon, love. This is lunch.”

“For you,” Riley scoffed as she took a seat at the table, “first meal of the day is breakfast no matter what time it’s served.”

“Riley tends to burn the midnight oil,” Liam explained as he retook his seat.

“I’m a raging night owl, he means,” she smiled at Drake and his heart somehow managed to plummet and soar at the same time.

Drake cleared his throat as he reached for his water glass, “I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us.”

“Liam insisted,” she paused as a server placed a dish in front of her then spoke to her plate as she pushed the food around with her fork, “sorry I was late. I was a bit hung over this morning.”

“I want you two to get to know each other!” Liam interjected.

Riley’s eyes lifted from her plate to meet Drakes; her gaze laden with amused irony.

“Ah…I….” Drake had never been struck speechless before, but then he’d never been in such an awkward situation.

He was saved from answering when the door to the dining room opened again. The queen strode into the room, fury etched on every feature of her face, “I knew I’d find you with her!”

Riley’s fork clattered to her plate as an exaggerated sigh escaped her, “Just fucking peachy…”

Liam was on his feet again, “Darling, you’re supposed to be resting-“

“How can I rest when I know she’s here?” the new arrival leaned around Liam’s body to glare at Riley, “It’s bad enough when you disappear for days at a time to Valtoria, or she follows you to Paris but here you are carrying on under my own roof!”

Riley turned in astonishment, “Are you serious right now? After what you did to me?”

“What I did to you? You’re the one fucking my husband even though you know I’m pregnant and shouldn’t be placed under any undo stress! Have you no shame?”

“Me?” Riley pushed away from the table and strode toward the other woman, shoving past Liam as she went, “You’re the one that married the man I loved even though you were supposed to be my best friend!”

“I was your best friend, Riley! But I was sent here for a specific purpose, and I fulfilled that purpose!”

“Oh really, Hana? Don’t pretend that you gave a shit about what your parents wanted…you married him to punish me for not returning your feelings!”

Hana stumbled back like she’d been hit, “That’s an outrageous accusation!”

Riley scoffed, “It’s the truth! Two nights before the coronation you tried to get me to run away with you and when I told you that I was in love with Liam, you-“

“Riley, please,” Liam reached for her arm in an attempt to defuse the situation.

She jerked her arm out of his grasp and spun on him, “Fuck you Liam! You didn’t even try to fight for us and out of everyone you could have chosen, you picked my best fucking friend!”

Hana’s voice shook with outrage, “If you were my friend, Riley, you wouldn’t be sleeping with my husband!”

“If you were my friend, Hana, you wouldn’t have married the man that had already made promises to me! The man that fucked me in the hedge maze five minutes before getting engaged to you!”

Hana’s body jerked back at the revelation and a malicious smile spread across Riley’s face, “Oh, you didn’t know about that, huh?”

Hana’s face darkened even more as her eyes filled with angry tears, “I….you’re lying!”

“Sure I am,” Riley’s composure was back, “Keep telling yourself that because we both know he won’t tell the truth about a goddamn thing!”

Riley turned and headed for the door, “Fuck both of you! You deserve each other!”

Liam started to go after her, “Riley, wait!”

Hana stepped in front of him, “Liam! Are you serious right now? You’re going to chase after your whore? I’m your wife!”

Drake, who had sat watching the whole exchange with wide eyes scrambled to his feet. Clamping a hand on Liam’s shoulder, he told him, “It’s okay, deal with your wife. Stress can’t be good for the baby….I’ll go after Riley.”

“But…you barely know her…”

“You’re right. I just met her. But it doesn’t seem like she’s in the mood to deal with you right now, does it?”

Liam’s shoulders slumped as he blew out a breath of frustration, “You’re right. Thank you, Drake.”

“Sure,” he said as he headed for the door.

Don’t thank me. I don’t deserve it.

He threw a glance over his shoulder as he exited the dining room. Liam had Hana wrapped in his arms.

Drake shook his head as let the door fall shut and took off down the hall after Riley.

[loftec]

Aaand? Have you watched the first episode? :)

Yes! Some spoilertastic thoughts under the cut!

I kind of enjoyed it! I mean… I almost yelled with frustration at HOW LONG the basketball scene setting up Kev’s issue of the week was, and I haven��t missed Frank AT ALL, and I don’t understand how the writers STILL don’t know how to construct a joke around someone turning out to be trans without turning the trans person into the joke. And I don’t know why I had to sit through Carl’s storyline being LOL SEX like it’s, what? Funny? Titillating? Shocking? No, boring. And uncomfortable. But okay, guess his girlfriend’s leaving soon and the whole thing will turn out to not matter at all.

Here’s what I kinda loved.

Luis Guzmán! I didn’t know he was on this show at all, so I was like groaning in pain over having to sit through endless scenes of Frank talking and being an irredeemable piece of shit, when he literally turns a corner and trips over Luis Guzmán! I hope he sticks around, he makes Frank’s scenes at least 50% more endurable for me.

Debbie..? She seems to be doing well, which makes me happy. I’m not a fan of the whole expensive clothes/stuff thing she’s doing, but I really liked all her scenes with her co-worker, whom I will affectionally refer to as ”exposition guy” (I’m sure he’s been introduced in an earlier season and it’s my fault that I didn’t catch his name or know anything about him, but I liked him!) it’s nice that she has a friend she can talk to, and a job she’s good at.

I also loved that she seems to have support from Vee, Vee in general was great. She seems happy with her daughters and doing ok with Kev (I say ok because my patience with Kev in this episode was record low and I’m not sure I am as invested in their relationship as I once was, too much shit happened in season 5… but again, this might have been dealt with in the seasons I have missed). I loved her scenes with Liam.

Speaking of Liam. At first, I felt like his whole character was reduced to a bit joke, but I genuinely enjoyed his scenes with Vee (the support! The genuine investment in his interests!) and I felt it in my heart when he got beat up. Then they kind of ruined it by having him act and talk like an adult at the alibi. I think it’s absolutely realistic for a kid his age to act older than he is, and for a kid his age to get hyper-fixated with a thing – be it his cultural heritage or something else – but he’s still a kid. And he’s been abandoned by the closest thing he’s ever had to a mother (although I don’t know how his relationship with Fiona was portrayed in seasons 6-9), and he’s found this really wonderful and close relationship with Vee. I just wanted him to walk into the alibi and maybe try to act tough at first, but when Vee shows concern and asks him what happened, I wanted him to respond like a kid and be like ”I got beat up, it’s unfair, I didn’t do anything, I’m sad, please comfort me.” Not in so many words, but you get the idea. But he’s an absolute cutie and I’m happy he has a storyline at all, and I hope he gets more time and nuance throughout the season.

Lip got to me. He really really got to me. I don’t know his girlfriend (my fault, sorry) but I liked that he was accepting of her pregnancy personality and still expressed to his coworker that he missed how she used to be. I was properly invested when they got to the hospital, and I was tearing up by the time he held his son for the first time. It was really well acted and written, and I think the dramatic turn was treated well. Hiowievear. I don’t know what it’s like in the US, and I guess it’s extenuating circumstances when something like this happens, but I find it incredibly unrealistic that the hospital would let the whole group in like that. I get that it was supposed to establish the new core group of the show, or whatever, but what kind of hospital lets just anyone in to see a (presumably prematurely) newborn baby? Carl, Debbie and Liam I get, and I would have liked to see the mother’s family in there too, but no. Instead we get dirty old Frank and his friend Luis Guzmán, and Carl’s girlfriend?? This is probably a very small hill, and I should just climb off it before I die on it.

At some point duding the birth, I suddenly realized that Ian was about to be an uncle. And I got alarmingly emotional. I liked that Debbie mentioned Ian a couple of times, and mentioned visiting, it was nice. And I got a good feeling from the ”next time on Shameless” preview where they made a point of showing Ian reacting to the news. I really really hope he and Lip can have a nice and supportive relationship again once Ian gets out.

I am well exited for next week. It’s happening people, I didn’t think it would but here we are. I’m kinda into it.

[yaz-the-spaz]

Beautiful Monster (Part 3)

so this is the last installation that will be posted on tumblr! the complete fic will be posted on ao3 later tonight has now been posted on ao3!

also this was supposed to be my New Year’s Day gift to you guys but i just didn’t have a chance to review it like i wanted to in time so it’s just gonna have to be a (way) belated New Year’s gift lol but on the bright side inspiration did happen to strike for the threequel fic during the interim of me finalizing the edits for this fic so it all worked out in the end and you’ll actually be getting a double feature/double belated New Year’s present cause the latest chapter for that will be up soon too (most likely by tomorrow)!

Summary: Zayn is a homeless vampire who, unbeknownst to Liam, has been routinely breaking into Liam’s van for a warm place to sleep. When Liam catches him in the act things end up going in a direction no one expected. And then shit gets weirder. Because Liam might also be hiding some secrets of his own…

Part 1 here

It’s a Thursday afternoon when Niall pops by out of the blue.

The doorbell rings and Zayn goes to answer it cause Liam’s in the middle of feeding the dogs their dinner. He figures it’s probably just someone trying to sell something anyway and he’d rather just let Zayn be the one to tell them to bugger off, but he snaps up when he hears a familiar voice on the other side, that familiar Irish brogue that he’d recognize anywhere.

“Um…hello. You’re not Liam. Liam does still live here, yeah?”

Zayn nods politely. “He does. Who’s asking?”

“His mate, Niall. And you are?”

Zayn perks up at this news, seemingly excited to be meeting a friend of Liam’s, sticks out a hand and smiles brightly. “Zayn, Liam’s live-in booty call.”

Liam blanches, rushing over to the door stiffly.

“Um, Niall, hey,” he says, ushering Niall inside quickly, hoping the previous topic of conversation goes forgotten. “I didn’t know you were in town, when’d you get in?”

“Just a couple hours ago. Only here for the weekend really, but I came straight here cause I had to see my Payno of course. How’ve you been, mate? Pretty well I’m assuming,” he says with a grin, dropping his bags just inside the door and turning back to size Zayn up appreciatively.

“Uh, yeah, you know, same old, same old mostly. Work’s been good and the dogs are okay, can’t complain. Zayn is—” he stops, not quite sure how exactly to describe what Zayn is and opting instead to just skirt around it. “Zayn’s been a great help. He’s just, um, he’s staying here temporarily until he can get back on his feet.”

“Oh…okay.” Niall nods but he still looks a little confused, though he doesn’t inquire any further, maybe sensing somehow that it’s not something Liam’s really eager to talk about right now in front of present company.

Zayn smiles at Niall politely, offering to take his coat and Niall shrugs out of it obediently, kicking off his shoes in the process.

Niall follows Liam into the kitchen as Zayn goes to put up his coat and bag and when they’re a safe distance away Niall leans into him and says, “So, what exactly is going on here? Is this, like, a roommate situation? You short on cash or something and renting out your couch? Or are you two dating and you decided to jump the gun and let him move in early or…? Cause, I mean, I know I miss a lot sometimes when I’m gone especially when I have no cell service but when I last FaceTime’d you a couple months ago you said you still weren’t seeing anyone and now you’ve apparently got a live-in boyfriend? What’s the story there?”

Liam shrugs, avoiding Niall’s eyes. “None of the above but also sort of…all of the above?” Liam sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “It’s complicated, okay? But he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just…”

“Sleeping together while you let him stay in your house till he gets back on his feet?”

Liam looks at him miserably but Niall raises his hands in defense. “Hey, I’m not judging. If it works, it works. As long as you’re happy, you know? That’s all that matters to me. And I mean, he’s well fit so, y’know, good job there.” He smirks. And then a thought seems to occur him and leans in a bit closer, lowers his voice even more, serious now. “Does he know about your…you know?” he asks.

“No,” Liam says emphatically. “And I plan to keep it that way.”

Niall nods solemnly in understanding, dropping the subject and Liam’s grateful.

Niall’s the only “normal” mate he’s got who knows about his secret and has still stuck around. But he travels a lot, always backpacking through Europe or spelunking in Asia or hitchhiking across the Americas (yes, Americas as in plural, as in hitchhiking his way from Canada all the way down to Argentina) so Liam usually only really sees him about twice out of the year most years—for the holidays and whenever else he happens to be in town and decide to pop by Liam’s out of the blue like he’s just done. They’ve been friends pretty much since they wound up roomed together at uni, where Niall, the only actual geography major Liam had ever met, would stay up late talking Liam’s ear off about all the places he wanted to travel to (not that Liam minded cause Niall’s a great storyteller and Liam actually learned a lot from him over those years about all sorts of different places). When Niall discovered travel blogging and found out there was a way he could actually get paid to travel he jumped at the opportunity and has been pretty much steadily country-hopping ever since they graduated. They talk on the phone as often as they can when Niall’s got service or access to decent working wi-fi and Liam’s got a whole drawer full of postcards Niall’s sent him over the years. But even though they don’t see each other as often as Liam would like Niall’s still one of his best mates and apparently still knows him too well.

He stays for dinner and after a bit the slight awkwardness hanging in the air seems to dissipate and the three of them are eating and talking like they’ve all known each other for years instead of just him and Niall. Niall regales them with stories of his latest travels; an incident with goats stealing and apparently trying to eat his luggage in Papua New Guinea, the triumphs of winning over and befriending the meanest donkey in all of Greece, how he was unofficially adopted by one of the elders in a bamboo-weaving village called Ngũ Xã and now has a Vietnamese grandmother.

Liam laughs so much his cheeks are sore by the end of the night, as are his abs, but such is the usual with Niall. As is also the usual with Niall though is the inevitable goodbye and Liam’s already dreading it before it comes but he’s still glad to have had this surprise visit at all even if it was a bit awkward at first. As he hugs Liam goodbye Niall promises he’ll be coming home more often from here on out though and that’s enough to warm Liam’s spirits for now despite his too-sudden departure as Niall sees himself out with a wave and bright grin, rucksack slung over his shoulder. And then Liam is alone with Zayn again. Alone with his own uncertainties and feelings and his messy thoughts.

*

“So what do you guys actually do at these conferences?” Zayn asks in the van on their way back from another highway roadkill stock-up just before Liam’s due to leave again. “Do you just, like, sit around eating barbeque, crushing beer cans against your heads, arm wrestling and organizing pissing contests whilst talking about construction stuff?”

Liam snorts, flashing an amused grin at Zayn. “Is that what you imagine we do? Like a giant frat party or something?”

“Well, yeah, I mean, it certainly sounds kinda like one. I mean you meet every month at some super secret location that—considering you have such shoddy service the whole weekend has gotta be, like, way out in the wilderness somewhere—just to eat a bunch of meat and drink beer with a bunch of other guys for three days. Sounds a hell of a lot like something a bunch of frat boys would do to me.”

“Bit unfair of you to assume that everyone who’d go to a construction conference is a guy, and a butch one at that,” Liam says deftly trying to change the subject.

“Touché. In retrospect, I guess that was an unfairly stereotypical judgment to make,” Zayn concedes with a nod. “But seriously though, what do you guys actually do besides grilling meat cause I’m having a hard time imaging what riveting events you could possibly get up to at a construction conference that would make everyone wanna come back as frequently as every month. D’you lot, like, exchange insider secrets on the performance of the construction trade in the stock market? Make elaborate bets on who’s gonna sell the most piping this year? Build a giant secret fortress in the woods? I mean, like, what is it?”

“Christ, look, it’s just a gathering of a bunch of like-minded people where we can just get together and blow off a bit of steam for a few days, okay?” he snaps, tone a bit too terse, a bit too defensive, although it’s not entirely a lie. Not really. But anyway he hadn’t even meant to snap, it’s just Zayn’s asking too many questions and it’s both not the time nor is Liam in the right mood or headspace to deal with being given the third-degree right now, even if it is half-jokingly. He’s wound up and on edge and he just really, really wants to get on the road already and be far away from here and away from Zayn and all his questions. “It’s not that big a deal, alright, so can we just drop it?”

Zayn raises his hands in defense. “Okay, okay, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I know you tend to get kinda testy and stressed out before these things, I didn’t mean to upset you, I shouldn’t have pushed.” Zayn’s quiet for a little while before he says softly, tentatively, like he’s afraid of setting Liam off again, “But maybe—I mean, I don’t know if you’re allowed to bring, like, a plus one to these things, but maybe…if you are…maybe one time I could come along with you—I mean, only if you want of course—but it’d just be nice to meet some of your mates, you know? I mean it’s been three months and I haven’t met any of them yet except for Niall, although, like, if you don’t want me to that’s cool too, I totally understand, but I just thought it’d be nice to, like, hang out, you know, like outside of the house.”

Fuck. There Liam goes again not thinking about anyone but himself. He hadn’t even considered that Zayn might feel like Liam’s hiding him. Like he’s a secret to be ashamed of. He wishes he could tell Zayn that that’s not why he hasn’t met any of Liam’s friends. That it has nothing to do with Zayn himself or their current living arrangements or Liam being ashamed of him and wanting to hide him away or keep him a secret.

But he can’t tell Zayn any of that without inviting more questions that he won’t be able to answer so instead he just mutters a noncommittal, “Maybe,” and leaves it at that, knowing full well it’s an empty half-promise because Zayn knowing anything about what actually goes on at these weekend gatherings would be a monumentally bad, bad idea.

*

Predictably he finds out anyway.

*

“What the he—Liam?” There’s a gentle touch at his shoulder. “Liam…Liam?”

Liam blinks gritty eyes open to bright sunlight streaming down on him, Zayn’s blurry face slowly coming into focus above him, sunlight bracketing his head like a halo. There’s a soreness that penetrates every muscle in his body, every fiber of his being, sunk down into his bones, his very cells, pumps through his blood like a visceral thing, but none of that’s new. This isn’t where he’s supposed to be though. The previous day is a blur and as usual he’s groggy as all hell but he’s aware enough to know immediately that this is not where he usually wakes up. Not where he’s supposed to be waking up. The grass, the trees, they’re too familiar. As is the face still currently looming above him.

“Zayn?” Liam croaks hoarsely in confusion, trying to sit up, to re-acclimate himself to this body.

“Are—are you…okay?” Zayn says, eyes full of concern as he looks Liam over.

“Course,” Liam says automatically without thinking. That gets him an even more concerned look from Zayn and Liam sits up properly, trying ineffectively to clear his throat of the raspiness that he already knows won’t fade for at least another couple of hours as he rubs at his eyes and takes in deep breaths of the crisp winter air to wake himself up fully.  It’s not until he’s more alert and full awareness of the situation catches up to him that he realizes just how fucked he is—how this must all look to Zayn—and finds himself scrambling for some sort of halfway believable explanation but coming up completely blank.

He’s naked, covered in dirt and possibly a bit of blood, being woken up in his own backyard miles from the “conference” Zayn believed him to be at and smelling like absolute filth. And his first response had been to act like everything was totally fine and this was all completely normal—which it is for the most part, for him, with the exception of waking up in his own backyard. Zayn though is looking at him like he has two heads and Liam shakes his head quickly, trying to backtrack.

“I mean…um…” Liam falters, grasping at straws for to how to explain any of this without revealing everything he’s tried to keep so carefully hidden. “…Would you believe me if I said I was kidnapped and I have no idea how I got here?” he tries.

Zayn just blinks at him.

*

“So…your not-butch, not-all-male, not-douchy mates from the construction conference...that you just told me wasn’t at all like a frat…kidnapped you, stripped you, and left you naked and covered in dirt and blood in your own backyard…all as part of some sort of elaborate hazing ritual?” Zayn repeats slowly, squinting at Liam dubiously.

Liam nods, fidgeting in his seat at the counter in a lame attempt to avoid Zayn’s eyes. He’s showered and fully clothed now and nursing a mug of tea Zayn made for him to “warm him up” after being left naked in the freezing cold for so long. He doesn’t bother telling Zayn that he doesn’t really need it. The cold doesn’t much bother him in his other body, and even once he turns back it takes a little while for normal human sensitivity to really set back in anyway.

“So, then, are they gonna bring back your van too? And your clothes and all your other stuff that got left there?”

Liam looks up at him, startled two-fold. One, because he hadn’t expected Zayn to actually believe him, though he supposes he still might not but it could just be that he doesn’t wanna pry and is just willing to go along with it because he thinks it’s what Liam wants. And two, because he hadn’t thought of any of that himself and is now wondering how the hell he’s gonna reach the others to let them know what happened (and see if they can bring back his stuff for him) without his phone.

“You know, on second thought, I don’t think I wanna meet your friends after all if they’re the kind of arseholes that would pull some shit like this and just dip. Leave you with your dick swinging in the wind. Literally…” Zayn says, plopping into the seat next to him at the counter and shaking his head.

To be continued...

[Read the full rest of the full fic now on ao3]

[lordofassgard]

Evil {Part 2}

Requested: | yes | no |

Maybe continue it where Theo and the reader start to get closer and maybe slowly develop feelings for each other? And maybe the reader has a feeling or knows that Theo has other intentions but knows that he isn’t truly evil and like super fluffy and caring stuff because I feel like Theo isn’t cared about enough lol he really isn’t

Pairing: Theo Raeken x f!Reader

Summary: The reader is Stiles’ twin sister and doesn’t think Theo is evil. That is until weird things start to happen she finally understands what her brother meant all along

Word Count: 4.1k+

Warnings: cursing like once, Stiles being a dick to Theo

A/N: I’m so sorry it took me so long to do this, I’ve been busy as fuck. The request didn’t really turned out like I originally planned but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I know I said I was going to turn Evil into a series but I like the way this ended so yeah, Evil ends here. Also, thank you so much to the nonnie who requested this ily and I hope you like it 💕

check navigation for masterlist

Part 1 || Part 2 find part 1 in my masterlist

Disclaimer: I feel like I need to say this I don’t think Theo is evil omg he’s a cinnamon roll who made a few mistakes

You were bored as you sat in the cafeteria with the pack at lunch. They were talking in pairs but you didn’t feel like it. Instead, you scrolled through your social media to pass the time.

“So, I was thinking…” Lydia started and the pack went quiet to hear her “Maybe after school we could go bowling.”

“Sounds good.” Stiles was the first to answer making you roll your eyes. He needed to tell Lydia how we felt because you couldn’t take him squealing like a schoolgirl about how cute Lydia’s braid looked.

“Yeah, I’m in.” Scott and Kira nodded.

“I guess…” Malia shrugged.

“I can’t…” Liam frowned “It’s movie night with Mason.”

“What about you (Y/N)?” Stiles turned to you.

“Sure.” You shrugged “I don’t have any plans.”

“You never have plans.” Your brother teased and you rolled your eyes.

You listened while they arranged things for that afternoon. At 5 pm after school, you’d meet at the bowling alley where you had been countless times in your entire life. When the bell rang, you, Scott, Kira and Lydia walked together to Biology while the others went to their classes.

“Hey (Y/N)” You heard someone call your name as soon as you walked in.

Theo waved to get your attention and smiled when your eyes landed on him.

“I saved you a seat.” He pointed to the empty chair next to him.

You looked back at Lydia, you usually sat with her but she nudged you towards Theo’s table with a smirk.

“Go!” She whispered.

You shook your head with a laugh and walked towards Theo.

“Hi! Thanks.” You thanked him when you sat down.

“No problem.”

The teacher walked in and the both of you started paying attention. That was until he whispered your name during class.

“Do you have plans after school?”

“Yeah, I’m going bowling with the pack. You wanna come with us?”

“I don’t know…” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Hold up…”

You took your phone out of your bag and went to your group chat with the pack.

[You]: Hey guys, I’m bringing Theo today

[Han Stiles]: No you’re not…

[Angry Bean]: ^^^

[You]: Liam you shouldn’t text in class

[Han Stiles]: Neither should you…

[You]: Okay

[You]: So why can’t I bring Theo?

[Han Stiles]: Because I don’t like him, he’s shady and he’s not part of the pack

[You]: Guys, I know you’re reading this back me up here

[Lyds]: I don’t see what’s wrong…

[McAlpha]: We’re in class guys…

[Maliaaa]: Why can’t she bring Theo?

[Foxie]: Idk…

[You]: @ Kira explain

[Foxie]: I’m not against it but things will get awkward if Theo comes

[You]: Is it because of my brother?

[You]: That’s a stupid question of course it is…

[You]: You know what? If you guys can’t accept a friend of mine don’t wait for me to show up

[You]: Have fun

You locked your phone with a frown and turned to Theo trying to brighten up your expression.

“You know what? Bowling sounds boring, do you have other plans?”

“I was going home and play video games.”

“Sounds awesome. What kind of video games do you have?”

“The normal ones.” He shrugged “Do you wanna come over?”

“Yeah, sure.” You grinned.

“Ms. Stilinski, Mr. Raeken, is there anything you’d like to share with the rest of the class?”

“No ma’am.” Theo shook his head, focusing his attention back on the board.

When school ended, you walked towards the parking lot with some books in your arms.

“(Y/N)” Your brother called “C’mon, I still have stuff to do before bowling I don’t wanna be late.”

“I’m not going with you.”

“What?” He stopped dead in his tracks and raised his eyebrows “Where are you going?”

“Hey, are you ready?” Theo approached the two of you “We can pick some snacks on the way.”

“You’re going with him?”

“See you later Stiles, have fun bowling.”

You and Theo walked away from a dumbfounded and annoyed Stiles towards Theo’s truck.

“He didn’t look too happy.” Theo mentioned once you were on the way to his house.

“He’ll get over it.” You shrugged with a laugh “Hey, can I turn on the radio?”

“Sure.”

You leaned towards the radio and so did he, your hands touching before they touched the radio.

“Sorry.” You quickly brought your hand back to your side.

Your cheeks were getting warm, why were you blushing? Your hands just touched, he didn’t propose. Get it together (Y/N). Without another word he turned on the radio, a soft tune coming out of the speakers.

“I love this song.”

“Me too.”

You looked at each other grinning before the both of you started singing at the top of your lungs, unable to keep a straight face. The melody wasn’t heard anymore, just the two of you screaming the lyrics like you were at a concert. Things with Theo felt easy. With Theo you had no problems, no duties, no worries. You just hoped he’d stick around.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・

“It’s not fair, you’re a werewolf. You have fast reflexes” You crossed your arms over your chest with a pout after you lost for the tenth time in a row.

“Life is unfair, get over it.” He teased and you threw a pillow at him.

“Life is unfair, get over it.” You mocked.

“Hey I don’t sound like that.” He pretended to be offended.

“Hey I don’t sound like that.” You mocked again.

“Besides…” Theo smirked “You just suck at video games.” He shrugged.

“Excuse me?” You gasped faking offense “I’m the best at video games.”

“Babe don’t embarrass yourself. Just admit you suck.” He laughed throwing his head back.

You widened your eyes at the pet name, your heart jumping several beats. In a few weeks, Theo Raeken managed to flip your world upside down with his smiles and pet names and his nice outfits and caring gestures. But little did you know how much your world was going to change because of a certain blue-eyed boy.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・

You were at the station when you heard the commotion outside your dad’s office. You opened the door just in time to see Lydia falling down bleeding.

Running towards her, you didn’t see Tracy coming your way. You only felt her claws scratching your stomach and you fell on your knees.

“(Y/N)” You heard your dad yell.

It was like everything was happening in slow motion. You landed on the floor and tried to bring your shaky hands to your stomach to stop the bleeding. The background noises seemed distant, the lights on the ceiling felt like they were moving around. The pain was almost unbearable but it soon turned into numbness, like it had always been there.

“(Y/N), stay with me.” You felt the pressure of someone’s hands on your stomach “Look at me. (Y/N) look at me.”

You slowly blinked a few times trying to focus on the person. Parrish’s green eyes were the first thing you noticed and a small smile made its way to your lips.

“Is…is my dad okay?” You weakly asked.

“Yeah, he’s fine.” Jordan smiled at you still focused on your stomach.

“Where’s Lydia?”

“She’s fine, she’s with Kira.”

You tilted your head to the side, looking away from Jordan as you fought to keep your eyes open.

“I’m sleepy.”

“No, no stay awake (Y/N) c’mon you can’t fall asleep.”

“But I want to…” You whined.

“(Y/N)” Another voice called out your name but you didn’t have the energy to call back.

Someone else kneeled down next to you and grabbed one of your hands.

“Theo?”

You felt the pressure being lifted off your stomach before you felt something soft on top of you. Theo had shrugged off his jacket and was using it to stop the bleeding.

“How’s her pulse?”

“Weak.” Theo answered and his voice seemed slightly shaky.

The room just kept spinning and spinning and you found it harder to keep your eyes open. You felt like you had just woken up when you’re still sleepy and you feel exhausted even though you’re well rested. And then you blacked out.

You started hearing beeping noises, they were rhythmical. And you felt sore, like the aftermath of a marathon where all your muscles hurt even the ones you didn’t know you had. You opened your eyes, blinking a few times to adjust them to the bright light in the white room. The white walls were too familiar unfortunately, you were at the hospital.

“Thank God you’re awake.” Stiles sighed in relief.

“What happened?” Your voice came out raspy.

“Tracy she uh…” He tugged at his hair nervously “She scratched you.”

“Did you save her? Is she okay?”

“Just rest…”

“She’s dead isn’t she?” His silence was the answer you needed.

You sighed and whimpered when you felt pain spread through your stomach.

“What is it? Do you want me to call Melissa?” Stiles got up, knocking down the plastic chair where he was sitting in the process.

“No, I’m fine.” You reassured him “Where is everybody?”

“Dad is at the station, trying to cover up what actually happened, Lydia is still in surgery and everyone else is in the waiting room.”

“I’m sorry…” You avoided his gaze.

“For what?”

“For not being strong like them or smart like you. I’m basically dead weight and all I do is make you guys worried.”

“What are you talking about? Do you have any idea what you did for us? Without you, we’d probably be all dead. We need each other.” Stiles grabbed your hand and squeezed it.

A knock on your door interrupted your conversation. The door opened revealing the pack, except for Lydia and Theo a little behind. Liam was carrying balloons, Scott had flowers and Theo had a stuffed bear that looked way too small in his large hands. One by one they hugged you and kissed you either on the forehead or on the cheek telling you how much you had scared them and an “I’m glad you didn’t die” from Malia.

“Guys, guys.” Stiles called after a few minutes “The doctor said she needs to rest.”

“No, I’m fine.” You shook your head.

Honestly, you didn’t want to be alone.

“But you need to rest.” Scott spoke up “C’mon, we’ll come back tonight before my mom’s shift ends okay?” He smiled fondly at you.

Everyone started to get ready to leave and from the corner of your eye, you saw Theo getting up from the chair where your brother previously sat. As quickly as your wounded body allowed you, you grabbed his wrist making him look down at you, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Stay.” You whispered loud enough for him to hear.

He nodded and sat down again. You looked over at the pack leaving in time to see Stiles almost being dragged out of the room by Scott while mumbling something like “she almost died and she wants to be alone with him”.

“Thank you.” You spoke once the door closed “I remember you were there at the station. You saved my life.”

“I’d do it again if I had to.” Theo smiled “Get some rest babe.” Even in your weakened state, you still managed to blush at the pet name like you did all those other times.

“Will you be here when I wake up?” You asked, feeling sleep starting to take over you.

“I will, I promise.” He placed his hand over yours on the bed and you smiled before closing your eyes.

Even though you were sleepy, it took you a few minutes to fall asleep. Right before you fell asleep, when you’re still aware of what’s happening around you, you were almost sure that you heard Theo whisper I’m sorry. But it was all in your head. After all, what would he be sorry for?

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・

You sat in the waiting room of the hospital, your leg was bouncing up and down with anxiety. Earlier, you had gotten a phone call from Stiles, saying that your dad was on the way to the hospital. He didn’t say why he just said it was bad and that he’d meet you there. You tugged at your hair, unable to sit still, the lack of information driving you insane. Was your dad going to be okay?

Your phone rang, but it took you a few seconds to register the sound. Mason's name appeared on the screen making you worried. He went to the school to get Liam, why was he calling you? You picked up the phone, apprehensive until you heard the words that made your heart break.

“Scott is dead.” Mason announced over the phone “Theo killed him.”

For a few seconds, you didn’t say anything. You were frozen, wide-eyed and you didn’t know how to react.

“(Y/N)?” Mason called “Are you there?”

“Uh, yeah...yeah I am. A-Are you sure?”

“I saw it.” He paused “I’m so sorry.”

You hung up and stared at your phone for a few seconds. Dialing Stiles’ number as quickly as you could, you tried to let him know what was happening. When he didn’t answer you started freaking out.

Theo, your Theo had betrayed all of you. He killed Scott. He killed your best friend. How were you supposed to cope with the loss of your brother from another mother? How were you supposed to deal with the fact that your own boyfriend had killed him?

“This is all my fault.” You started pacing around, tugging at your own hair “Stiles was right.”

“Miss....” A nurse approached you carefully “Are you okay?”

You stopped in your tracks and turned around quickly, facing the worried woman. And what a sight you must have been. Hair all over the place, bags under your eyes and tears down your face.

“I…”

“Maybe you should sit down.”

“I just lost my best friend.” When you said the words out loud, it became real.

Scott was dead. Theo killed him. He used you, he used you to get to the pack, to get to Scott. You felt guilty because although you had nothing to do with Scott’s death, his blood was still in your hands. You felt guilty because you went against your brother, your pack. You felt guilty because you should’ve known, the signs were there but you chose to ignore them hoping they were just weird coincidences. You felt guilty because you knew you could’ve prevented what happened and yet you didn’t.

You felt angry because Theo used you. He toyed with your emotions and took advantage of your feelings to get closer to his goal. All the time the two of you spent together, it meant nothing. He was never on your side, he had always been the enemy. You’re not supposed to love the enemy, so why would he love you? You were nothing to him.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” The nurse’s voice brought you back to reality.

“I...This is all my fault.” You shook your head as tears streamed down your face.

“I’m sure it isn’t.” She tried to reassure you.

But little did she know that things were more complicated than she thought. There was so much blood in your hands and you hadn’t killed anyone. If only you had listened to your brother nothing would’ve happened. Scott would still be alive and your father would’ve been okay. You turned your back on everyone for Theo and in the end, he destroyed you like you were nothing. You unlocked your phone to call your brother one more time but you stopped and stared at your lock screen. A picture of you and Theo sleeping on your couch. When you stared at it before it made you smile as you thought about the day when it was taken but after knowing who Theo actually was, it made you want to smash your phone into pieces.

Clenching your jaw, you made a promise to yourself. Theo was going to pay for what he did.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・

“Are we really doing this?” You asked as you finished pouring mountain ash in front of the door.

“Why? Are you gonna believe what he says again?” Stiles didn't even bother to look up at you.

“What is that supposed to mean? He lied to me too!”

“I warned you about him!” He yelled “I fucking warned you and look at what happened. You let him in, this is all your fault.”

You took a step back like his words had pushed you backwards. Blinking a few tears away you mumbled a small I know. You sat on the stairs and put on Scott's jacket to cover his scent.

A few minutes later Theo walked in with a smirk plastered on his face. He looked down at the mountain ash before crossing it without a care in the world. You exchanged a look with Stiles, knowing that it was probably a bad idea to meet up with Theo.

“I guess we're all telling the truth now.” He looked up at the both of you, still smirking.

“You're the first chimera.” You mumbled feeling your heartbeat rise in your chest.

Another lie

Theo's eyes wandered upstairs where Scott hid so you shrugged off the jacket so that he could see where Scott's scent came from.

“You killed my best friend.” Stiles looked at Theo with anger.

“Let's be honest, Stiles. Was he still really your best friend?”

“Are you going to let my father die?” Stiles changed the subject.

“If I wanted him to die I wouldn't have told you where you could find him.” Theo shrugged.

“Then why are they saying that his body is shutting down?” You clenched your fists when Stiles mentioned your father's condition.

Theo kept smiling like he was one step ahead of all of you. In fact, he was. He had been all along.

“I'm not the bad guy.” Theo shrugged “I'm just a realistic. I'm a survivor.”

You stood up from the steps, fed up with him.

“You're a liar.” For a second you thought you saw hurt flash across his eyes but it was so quick, that you probably imagined it “You're a monster, a failure. You've done nothing but manipulate, kill and destroy everything around you.”

You took a step towards him.

“It's taking every fiber in my body not to kill you right now.”

“Babe, I…” He grabbed one of your hands in both his.

“Don't…” You warned “You don't have the right to call me that anymore.”

“Why? Don't you love me anymore?”

“You lied to me.” You changed the subject because the answer to his question was obvious.

Yes, you still loved him. And you hated yourself for it.

“I didn't lie about everything.” He shook his head, his grip tightening on your hand.

“I don't care.” You clenched your jaw, trying not to break down in tears.

His grip on your hand tightened and it was starting to hurt.

“Theo you’re hurting me.” You tried to pull your hand away from his grasp but it didn’t work.

“Hey, let her go!” Stiles got up and walked up to the two of you trying to pull you away from Theo.

Theo easily pushed him away, as a reflex, with a bit too much force making your brother stumble backwards and fall, his head hit one of the steps, knocking him out.

“Stiles!” You called out.

Theo’s grasp loosened and you escaped, kneeling down next to your brother.

“Stiles, wake up.” You looked up at Theo seeing his glossy eyes and his mouth open like he had something to say.

“I...I don’t know anything about your dad. I’m not lying.” The Theo you were seeing was completely different from the one that walked in “And I...I didn’t lie about my feelings, I love you.”

“You can’t love the enemy.”

You looked down at your brother, trying to spot some blood but luckily there was none. He was going to be okay.

“I’m not the enemy (Y/N), I never was. I’ve done some things wrong but...you have to believe me, we’re on the same side.”

“Get out.” You mumbled, but he heard you loud and clear.

“But…”

“I said get out!” You raised your voice, hoping he’d just leave once and for all “You’ve done enough.”

You stood in the same place and watched him walk backwards towards the door, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

“I’m so sorry.”

You wanted to go after him, you almost did. But the perpetual fight between your head and your heart had come to an end. As much as you loved Theo even after all he did, you had to walk away and save the ones you love. The rational part of you had won, but then why was your chest aching and your head spinning? Why did it feel like you were doing the wrong thing? Why did you want to go after him and hug him?

That was the moment you realized that loving someone was being weak. Looking back and seeing how much of a mess your life was because you fell in love with Theo, you blamed yourself. With so many handsome boys with blond hair and blue eyes, why did your heart have to choose Theo Raeken? Suddenly, every story about heartache made sense, because suddenly you knew what you had lost and could never get back, your own heart.

Scott rushed downstairs after he made sure that Theo had left. Stiles was starting to wake up and you let out a breath, not knowing you were holding it in.

“This is all my fault Scott, I’m so sorry.”

Stiles groaned making you shift your attention towards your twin.

“Are you okay?” You asked, rushing to his side.

“I’m fine.” He grumbled, pushing Scott’s extended hand away and getting up alone.

“You blacked out.” Scott looked at him concerned.

“I’m okay.” Stiles snapped “Did you get anything from him?”

“He was telling the truth about everything.” Scott looked over at you “He doesn’t know what happened to your dad and…” He trailed off.

“And what?” You asked.

“He does love you (Y/N). He wasn’t lying about that.”

Your eyes wandered out the open door towards the empty street where you had seen Theo disappear a few minutes earlier.

“It’s too late now.”

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・

So it didn’t come as a surprise when Theo got what he deserved. Everyone does, at some point. The hole on the floor swallowed him, his hands desperately trying to reach for something to hold on to. But there was nothing, he was alone. Theo kept yelling yours and Scott’s name and begging for help. Scott reached forward but you grabbed his wrist preventing him from doing anything.

“Let him go.” You tightened your grip on Scott’s wrist and clenched your jaw, your gaze never leaving the screaming teenage boy that cried out for help.

The screaming stopped once he was completely out of sight, the hole on the floor disappeared like it was never there, like the previous minutes had been nothing but an illusion. As silence filled your ears, you couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. For a second, you wanted Theo back, not the Theo that was dragged to Hell but the Theo you met, the good one, the fake one apparently. You wanted to be able to hold his hand, kiss him, hug him one last time. You wanted to go back in time just to feel what it was like to love him without knowing he was evil.

But when angels try to set the world on fire, they’re the ones who end up burning in Hell.

feedback is appreciated :) i’d link my ask box but tumblr is a dick

[demonzdust]

tbh i didn't think i'd find anyone who still ships briam but not thiam. I think it's admittedly cute, of course. but... i just can't bring myself to ship them. sceo tho. i will ship that until the end of time.

Marry me! xD (who are you? come off anon so I can love you!)

Sceo is life. I have so much love for that ship. Everything from the fact that Scott knew Theo possibly before he was corrupted by the Dread Doctors down to that Scott is the most forgiving compassionate person but also really strong and clever and wise so he wouldn’t let Theo walk all over him. I’ve shipped them since season 5 because Scott is the only person I could see ever being able to get through to Theo at that time and also wanting to. (I badwrong ship theo with a billion people but could only bring myself to end game ship him with Scott at that point).

Also I could see Scott being into Theo because Scott likes challenging people (like Allison) but also I think he’d find a relationship where he helps someone that really needs really emotionally rewarding.

But sceo is also it’s good for like a “theo seduces scott for power reasons but then they bond because they knew one another a long time ago” kind of thing.

And it doesn’t hurt that they’re both hot as fuck or that Scott makes “crush eyes” at Theo constantly:

In S6 the dynamic between them changed a lot, I think for the better. So many great scenes of Theo thinking about Scott…

Talking about Scott, working to redeem himself in Scott eyes, and also then Theo starts making the crush face at him:

How Theo chooses to use Scott’s philosophy as a road map for redemption when he was previously lost in the dark is also just so beautiful:

There’s a lot there that I think makes sense between there characters and is really interesting to explore. Deep emotional connections, complicated dark history, super steamy sex. xD

When it comes to Briam I love that fun fiery chemistry between them. It’s like scackson but without the hardness. They’re funny and cute and Liam is just so adorably awkward around him. There’s just this amazing funny youthful tension between them and even if their egos clash they’re both so good at heart:

When it comes to thiam, I don’t hate thaim in 6B, but I also don’t like how most of the thiam fandom portrays their characters. Theo is often reduced to a lovable quirky guy that’s just head over heels for Liam, and Liam never seems to care about what Theo did to Scott.

I do think there is some appeal in thiam, similar to sterek. I would be able to lowkey enjoy it more if the fans weren’t extremely aggressive and entitled, constantly hijacking threads or screaming for how it should have been canon. It really bothers me how a lot of them very seriously want Theo’s redemption to be about falling in love with Liam because that’s just so unfair to Theo’s character.

But as a purely fandom fun ship? I think it’s got some merit to it. They’ve got some really funny scenes that can easily be taken in a shippy direction. They’re two attractive boys with a lot of aggression between them:

(^^Tho tbh that’s my favorite thiam scene and I still far prefer the sceo going on in it lol)

I could get behind a fic or two about a steamy begrudging attraction on Liam’s part towards Theo that kind of spirals and grows into something. I have a few ideas for some thiam fics I’d like to write.

I don’t think it has to be an either/or with fandom ships. You can like sceo, thiam, briam, maleo, scackson, sciam, liolan, whatever, and enjoy them all for similar or different reasons. For me the most off-putting thing about the thiam fandom s how they act like their ship is somehow better or has more canon merit when it really doesn’t at all.

Personally, I really love thiam as a bromance. I’d like to see them wing-manning one anther. I also like the idea of Theo acting like an older brother to Liam because he’s in a small way redeeming himself for what he did to his sister. This is a totally reasonable thing for me to want to see, but when I post stuff like that I guarantee you there will be someone who comments “THEO IS IN LOVE WITH LIAM HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT DERRRRRRP!!”

So that’s the part I don’t like. xD

But thiam can be good for fanworks. And there are lots of nice people that ship thiam and aren’t crazy.

[organictm]

i've been iffy about larry for a bit now but i've realized why i don't believe in it anymore. i can't believe that if larry was real, harry would be perfectly fine with the amount of freedom he has and be able to watch the amount of burden and how constricted louis is. i cannot believe that any healthy relationship would allow one to prosper and the other to shrink. this is not healthy. we say how unhappy louis must be with his team and how we would try to help. i must wonder why harry isn't.

i see your point and understand why you feel that way but i don’t really agree with it because to me, harry isn’t as free as some people believe he is. sure, he is encouraged to run around the stage with rainbow flags and rainbow pins but at the same time? he has incredibly het and sexist lyrics, has a beard, will be at the grossest event of the year and has a completely fabricated image just like louis (liam and niall).

his manager is his “friend” but you should wonder how much impact that has considering the azoffs only got close to him so that they would be able to work with him (just like they do with basically all of their acts) and at the end of the day, the azoffs are in it for the money and seem to be following their really outdated tactics all the time.

i can’t know if louis and harry are still together even though i truly believe they are and in my opinion, no matter how much people play the “louis is happy for harry, just be happy for him too” card, i believe that louis is a human being who can feel happy for a partner and feel really stressed/dissappointed/sad/whatever about his own work and how unfair his situation at the same time. many healthy couples go through times when one is in a shitty place and the other isn’t so i don’t believe that would be a reason for them to break up.

so i know i rambled on for ages lol but my point is that we don’t know how free harry is or how much power he would even have to help louis if he wanted to.

[piracytheorist]

(1)Hey beautiful, I'm glad you're feeling better! I spent my weekend at work and went to see some friends, also I started a Series of Unfortunate Events and I like it so far. How's your hiatus going? Are you watching any series until OUAT comes back? I'll say it again I love reading your metas, my preferences and headcanons regarding the show are really similar to yours. What you said about the Killian/Liam II dynamic seems pretty realistic.

(2)And yes I love that Killian's backstories never excuse his crimes and that it always parallels him doing the right thing in the present. It's repetitive but it always shows how good is redemption arc is and that even in the flashbacks his instinct is to to the right thing and I love that. OUAT is far from perfect (your bio "I hate OUAT but I still watch it" describe me perfectly lol) (3)but they created such complex characters, with rich backstories, and it's fascinating to analyze them and their dynamic with others. It's easy to have tons of headcanons and obviously few of them will actually happen on the show but it's such a nice surprise when they do happen, for instance i'm SO HAPPY that Emma met Liam and Milah, I had wanted this forever and I always wondered how it would happen. It wasn't perfect tho, I feel like 5x15 was...weirdly paced. (4)I wish we'd seen Killian introduce Emma and Liam. I guess it was in the script but they cut it. And the Milah/Emma dynamic was everything, I loved it so much. I saw the spoilers that Milah would be back and that they'd meet and for three months I imagined how it would be. That episode made me appreciate Milah a lot more but I'm still bitter about what happened, her soul is trapped forever and people like freakin CORA got to move on.. (5) Okay it's the last one! I wish you goodnight (or a good day depending on when you'll read this)! –your CSSV ♡ 

Hello, love! I’m dealing with the hiatus by staying on Tumblr and exchanging thoughts with other people, and I rewatch some of my favourite scenes from CS! I can’t keep up with too many shows at the same time, so I find it hard to watch a lot of them. I’m not quite a series junkie, so I’ve still yet to watch the new Sherlock or Mozart in the Jungle episodes. However, me and my roomie FINALLY finished the sixth season of Charmed that we started more than a month ago :P we’re going slowly but we will rewatch it all!

Heh, I changed my blog description after 6x10 to the one I have now. I really loved this show once, with its ideas and narrative and stories and all, and to some extent I still do, but now its quality has lowered significantly for me. But still for me it will be the show that gave me a fictional character whom I’ve loved more than any other and a ship I’m proud and certain to call my OTP. I have had some childhood/adolescence OTPs but none shared the love I have for Captain Swan. I can see me in twenty years still analyzing the ship and writing fics about them, and watching their scenes and people looking at me like “Why do you watch this old stuff it’s not even 3D!” lol.

But yeahhhhhhhh Season 5 was so promising and gave us a lot but not enough payoff... I liked that Liam was suspicious of Emma and didn’t like her right away but it would have been nice if his storyline wasn’t crumped up in one episode and instead he was given time to... develop, let’s say. I understand he’s a tertiary character connected to a secondary connected to a primary character but STILL you don’t give something so promising and rich and juicy and expect your viewers to not ask for more. Apart from the fact that I hated what they wrote for their backstory, I still find it unnacceptable that Killian and Liam didn’t hug. There should have been at least something, something deeper than a simple handhold as the two separated for what they hope would be decades. My tag for that episode is #where the fuck is my hug.

And Milah, oh, that’s another can of worms... like I know that my expectations for Gold to recognize his mistake were too much but, shit son, that I did not expect. Again, I know, tertiary character blah blah but what the hell! I think the most unrealistic thing in this whole plot was that Killian was perfectly fine with leaving her there! I mean, in 5x21, he was standing inches away from where she was pushed in but the writers seemed to have completely forgotten about that, and it drives me mad. Hades was gone, all I would need was for a few seconds where the Lost Souls were shown to be released from the River - that’s all I wanted. It would be enough, and yet nothing happened and I’m so sad. I know we talk about tragedy and stuff but it still was way too harsh. In my mind it happened, anyway! I can’t imagine Killian looking so relieved and so happy before moving on without making sure that Milah isn’t suffering, so to me it happened.

And like, with Cora, yeah I know that she regretted and if you think that Milah was a pirate for years she wasn’t the sweetest person in the world either but it’s UNFAIR! Milah’s death was unfair, Cora’s death was Snow’s desperate attempt to save herself and her family - something she deeply regretted. And yet- ugh! 

Aaaanyway those are just a few of the problems this whole season (and rest of the show!) have had for me and I turned negative, sorry :) It’s just that I hoped they had focused more on these aspects and not leave those stories half-told.

Tell me a bit about A Series of Unfortunate Events! I saw the movie that came out some years ago, and from what I’ve seen the series look cool, if not better. Is it good?

[like-stars-and-that]

Jamie Johnson ✨5x06 Review✨

◈┋We start off with Zoe, rather, one of her daydreams. Something I have noted, is that when we have these ‘visions’ with this particular character, they are not dreams like they are with the others (Dillon and Jamie for example) but rather, her just honestly daydreaming. Something she is focusing on in an awake state, and I think that says a lot about the constantly dark place her mind is at on a day to day basis. It shows Ruby, Dillon, Jack and Jamie getting their pictures taken, and Zoe struggling to catch up to them, self explanatory really, as we already know she feels left behind to some extent. Or at least, of lesser importance and value.

◈┋Boggy takes note of Zoe and the state of her shoes, and very bitterly she replies "well I can't afford new ones, okay?" Its a rare sot of segment of vulnerability, and something that further confirms how unfair of a chance she feels she has gotten.

◈┋A clip of Liam and Alba facing off, all in good humour and with a funny sort of Texas standoff theme. Not much to pick apart here. But apparently Alba is not overly offended by Liam's presence anymore, something I found odd as this was a recurring theme in the episode.

◈┋New girl (Kat?) and right away, I like her a lot more then Jack. I am... not a big Jack fan, never was. But Zoe does NOT like Kat because one, like Dillon says, she always gives the girls a hard time, and two, this takes eyes away from her when the scouts look for people for their women's team (talked about by Boggy earlier on in this episode) and given the lack of opportunities she gets given her lot in life, its something Zoe treats with extreme hostility. Understandably I think given what has happened before with Jack and her.

◈┋A talk with Dillon and Liam, a dynamic I want to see more of. They seem to get along at a moderate level, or at least are not hostile to each other. Liam said something interesting, "your problem is, is that your to bothered by what other people think of you. And that's why, your never gunna make it mate." THIS applies to a lot more than soccer (football), and its fun to see Liam be aware of how much Dillon tries to please rather then be himself. I am anxious to see what sort of impact Liam will make on the coming out story line next episode. Or the one after that. I think it will add to Liam's redemption, more the just pretty words like sorry and so forth. We have yet to see redemption in action; all we see is Liam willing to do ANYTHING to play football. Including faking nice.

◈┋More Kat and Zoe, and gotta say, the two make odd sort of parallels between their personalities and beliefs. Kat saying it was her destiny, and Zoe more inclined to think football is derived from hard work and sacrifice.

◈┋Skipping Liam's apology because ahem, I do not believe it, lol. Liam is clever, but he has not changed yet.

◈┋I do not know what Eric is the one with a problem against Liam. You would think it is Alba that would have the issue for the sake of the story, but its Eric, and I have not the faintest as to why. I mean, I get he has a reason to be mad, I just do not know why they are making him take issue with Liam joining and not legit, anyone else. I am interested to see how this expands given that Liam is hanging out with Alba and Freddie by the end of this, and Eric got given flask for picking on him. I say picking on him loosely.

◈┋Jamie, I love you, but can you not see how Boggy has sort of situated his LIFE around you and your sport? Boggy is getting the development we need and I am exited. He is my favourite of the three (Jack, Jamie and Boggy) so seeing him get some growth is fun. I wonder when and if Jamie will take note of Boggy sort of dwindling. Jamie can be a bit thick sometimes involving people other then him. I love the boy, but its true. We know the LEAST about Boggy. His mom, his dad, his life outside of the others.

◈┋Ruby and Dillon. Okay... so, I think Ruby is assuming a lot. I mean, Dillon seemed fine when Ruby said she has two moms, and they continued being friends and everything, but NO